Exhibition Games Really Pay Off

August 13, 1989|By Glen Macnow, Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Or is that the purpose? In recent years, a few NFL coaches have made every effort to win the preseason games - even giving established starters a lot of playing time - arguing that a successful preseason provides momentum into the regular season.

Stram, who coached the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl IV, was notorious for running up the score in preseason games.

''My whole philosophy was to win any game we played,'' he said. ''I never felt that losing did any good.''

Stram had another reason for playing his veterans: He was often trying to hide rookies.

''I didn't want regular-season opponents to see our new guys and how good they would be. See, I didn't have to put a player in the game to see how good he might be.''

Indeed, that kind of deception appears fairly regularly in the preseason. Vermeil recalls that when he coached the Eagles from 1976 to 1982, he often would toss in preseason stunts and formations just to disguise his real plans.

''We'd have 15 formations in the last preseason game just so that when we'd play the Redskins in the opening game, they couldn't read what we were really going to do.''

As a coach, Vermeil never regarded it as important to win preseason contests.

''I'd rather play well and lose those games than play poorly and win,'' he said. ''My first concern was developing the younger players.''

Now, however, he has altered his view. In a study he finished last year, Vermeil, who is now a broadcaster for ABC, found that of the 106 NFL teams that went to the playoffs between 1978 and 1987, just 22 had losing records in the preseason. Only two teams, he said, made the playoffs after losing all four exhibition games.

In 1988, three of the 10 playoff teams - Buffalo, Chicago and the Rams - had losing preseason records. The NFC East champion Eagles were 2-2.

That might liven things up. As things stand now, the quality of play in most preseason games is low. There are several reasons why: Well-known veterans rarely play. For example, Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham probably won't play more than one quarter in each of the first three preseason contests. Do local fans really want to pay regular-season prices to witness the ''battle for backup'' between Don McPherson and Matt Cavanaugh?

Big-name rookies are scarce. As of Wednesday, just six of the NFL's 27 first-round draft picks had signed contracts and were expected in uniform for this weekend's games. Most - such as Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions, Deion Sanders of the Atlanta Falcons and Tony Mandarich of the Green Bay Packers - remain out of camp.

Coaches tend to keep the number of plays and defenses to a minimum - Vermeil's deception aside. ''Midway through the game, you could pretty well figure out all the plays the offense was going to run,'' said Cindrich. ''Of course, they knew the few defenses we were throwing out there, also. So we'd just hit each other.''

Cindrich, who is now an agent for football players, would prefer that preseason games be replaced by contests just between each clubs' rookies. That, of course is unlikely partly because, for some cities, preseason games are hot commodities.

Cities seeking NFL expansion teams are lining up to host exhibition games, hoping that by luring big crowds to the contests, they might convince NFL owners to move a club there. That is why two weeks after they play in London, the Eagles will travel to Raleigh, N.C., to take on the Jets. Other cities hosting games this summer include Jacksonville; Memphis, Tenn.; St. Louis, and Oakland, Calif. - to which the Raiders will return to take on the Oilers.

''It's a chance to show the NFL that we can put people in the seats and to bring some new NFL owners to town to show them our merits,'' said Mike Sullivan, executive director of the Jacksonville Sports and Entertainment Commission. ''We get them downtown, put them up in a nice hotel and show them what Jacksonville is all about. Hopefully, this will contribute to our someday getting an NFL team.''

Last year, Jacksonville drew 62,000 fans to a preseason game played in a driving rainstorm. This year, the city is hosting two games - the Oilers vs. the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 19, and the Buffalo Bills vs. the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 1.

Hosting a game usually costs a city more than $1 million - including financial guarantees to each club. But even if it is a money-losing proposition, teams see it as a way to stay ahead on the expansion trail.

''Hey, criticize the preseason games all you want,'' said Sullivan. ''If anyone else is tired of them, we'll take them all.''